Access to Justice – Conceptualization for a Substantive Approach

• In Event: Prison and post-prison experiences

Abstract

The presentation will examine the conceptual framework of access to justice. The term's vagueness or narrow interpretation can create barriers to resolving access issues, making it difficult to understand and address the problems citizens face in their daily lives. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce various interpretive frameworks for access to justice theory and highlight the outlines of an initial step towards substantive access to justice. The presentation will follow a logical progression, moving from the formal to a possible substantive, and will also include the limitations, formulated by Andrew Pilliar. Furthermore, as a possible substantive approach for access to justice, Pilliar’s 'person-centred conception of access to justice' is introduced and discussed. This approach differs substantially from the ones presented earlier in the presentation as it places citizens at the centre. Finally, the presentation discusses the potential applications of indicators as a measurement tool in social sciences and legal studies, with a particular focus on measuring access to justice. The aim is to formulate and apply indicators as a first step towards implementing substantive access to justice – building on Pilliar’s concept --, which relies heavily on citizens' experiences and perceptions regarding access to justice.

Author

• Eszter Kovács Szitkay, Centre for Social Sciences Institute for Legal Studies, Budapest, Hungary; University of Public Service Doctoral School of Law Enforcement, Budapest, Hungary